He’s always shredding mountains and conquering all of his fears. Ashton tried skiing with a guide and a headset for the first time on Monday. I was a little nervous when his instructor asked if he wanted to try it. I let Ash decide what he wanted to do because it was his ski lesson and I wanted him to feel comfortable with his guide. Ashton was a little nervous at first because he has always depended on his hearing to follow his guides on the mountain. He had never had a headset device attached to his ski helmet before. He started slow and listening very carefully to his guide on the headset and then he realized how much he liked using the headset to communicate with her. He was so incredibly brave to trust her voice on the headset to guide him down the mountain. It was beautiful watching him skiing so freely compared to other times when he has to stay so close to his guide because he didn’t have the headset. His guide from the @nationalabilitycenter explained to us that the goal with him starting to use the headset is that eventually he can be in front of his guide going at whatever pace he chooses and just listening to know when to turn and which way to go. I remember the first time he started skiing when he was 6 and he needed a guide and a bamboo pole to guide him. Now he just needs a guide and a headset and lots of courage. Ashton has come so far conquering all of his fears on the mountain. #blindskier #blindkidscan #blindnessawareness #septoopticdysplasiaawareness #parkcitymountainresort #nationalabilitycenter #conqueringmountains #disabilityawareness #disabilityparenting #blindtok #blindtokcommunity Video description: A boy stands in the ski lift line wearing a vest that reads: “Blind skier” he also wears a ski helmet with microphone and headset attached. He smiles and then sits on the ski lift. He skis slowly following his guide who also had a headset. She guides him and skis in front of him. He skis down lots of parts of the mountain following her. He sits in the ski lift and smiles with his mom beside him and his guide.

The words she says to herself in the mirror matter. Last week I took Ocean on a shopping spree for spring clothes and we loved the new @Justice spring collection at @Walmart . They have the cutest and comfiest outfits for girls. Every time Ocean tried on an outfit she said it made her feel strong, confident and determined. That’s exactly how clothes should make girls feel when they try them on. I don’t want my daughter to pick clothes just because others are wearing them, I want her to pick outfits that remind her of who she is inside. More than compliments about how she looks I hope Ocean always remembers how she feels when she wears clothes that remind her of who she is. #justicepartner #ad #heartofjustice #poweredbygirls

Our words matter to our kids. I started this tradition 6 years ago of making a heart in Braille or print and taping it to their door everyday in February leading up to Valentine’s Day. My kids love reading the hearts every morning and it has helped me to practice Braille for my son. I found it was easier to Braille the words for Ashton in the middle of the page and then cut out his Braille heart. I used to cut his hearts first and then Braille them and they would get stuck in the Brailler. I love having a tradition that my kids can remember every year and know how much I love them. My words on those hearts matter to them more than any other valentine I could give them. #blindkidscan #braillehearts #braillereader #disabilityparenting #valentinesdaytradition #valentinesday #septoopticdysplasiaawareness #disabilityawareness #disabilityadvocate Video description: A mother Brailles the words “You are strong” on Braille paper. Then she cuts it in the shape of a heart and sets it next to two hearts with print on them. Then a boy reads the Braille heart on his bedroom door by using his fingers to feel the Braille, he smiles. Then a little girl reads a heart in print on her door and jumps up and down. Then a teen girl reads a heart on her door in print and smiles too. The last clip shows all three kids hugging their mom.

No one else can speak the words on your list. Last year in September Ocean asked me for a solo, she said her dream was to perform a solo on stage. She had only ever done team dances and she wanted to try learning a solo and performing it at her first dance convention this season. I told her it would be a lot more work and practices and she was determined to do it. She wanted a jazz routine and she wanted it to be to “Look What You Made me Do” by Taylor Swift. She had the best dance director @abreadanielledance that choreographed this solo for Ocean. She was amazing encouraging her and supporting her when she was learning her first solo. Her solo didn’t place in her category this time but as Ocean ran off stage, she had the biggest smile on her face and told me “I can’t wait to do it again!” I didn’t really care what place her solo got as long as my daughter loved what she was doing. She loved to dance and perform her solo on stage last week and that’s all that matters. Her high gold score was also a bonus because she wants to take this solo to nationals. Ocean doesn’t dance because she wants to win trophies she dances because she loves dancing and performing. That’s something much more important than getting any award. She also cheered and supported all her friends who got awards in her category and I loved seeing how happy she was for them. At the end of the dance convention she got a scholarship and she worked so hard during the audition process to get it. I’m so proud of my little dancer who followed her dreams and performed her first solo last week. I can’t wait to see her dance at nationals with her MVA scholarship and perform with a singer on stage too. She has so many big dreams and she’s determined to make them all come true. #dancelife #littledancer #minidancer #tinydancer #velocitydanceconvention #mvarunnerup #dancemom #dancedreams #danceismylife Video description: A little girl trying to learn an acro trick on a mat and not being able to hold a hand stand head stand split, the same girl holding a ponche and pointing and flexing her foot, the same girl hitting poses and expressions of a dance, then she performs on stage.

Replying to @Lindsay York She took home a high gold score but her solo didn’t place in her category.